Monday, December 17, 2012

On December 4, 2012, we celebrated you turning 6 yrs old! What a
milestone! We got up and got you ready for school, as usual. Ted, your
elf on the shelf, appeared in your room with a Happy Birthday sign.

You wore a super hero birthday badge on your uniform shirt. I watched you brush your teeth and wash your face like a big boy. On our way downstairs, I noticed your room was messy, as usual. Typical 6 yr old boy stuff. I gave you your medicine and supplements and we sat out on the porch and waited for your bus. You told me about your best friend Owen and what you planned on doing at school that day. Your bus came, I kissed you goodbye, without a care in the world.

I went inside and got to work baking 20 gluten free cupcakes, complete with Spiderman cupcake toppers, to bring to school for you to share with your classmates on that special day.

I watched the clock all day, excited to surprise you at 1 pm that day. When I got there, you and your classmates were all so excited! I watched as your sweet kindergarten teacher placed a birthday crown on your head.

Then all of your adorable 5 and 6 yr old classmates sang Happy Birthday to you before enjoying their cupcakes and telling you how awesome they tasted and giving you birthday hugs.

I smiled a lot. So did you. After we cleaned up, you asked to come home with us. I needed to finish some things at the house before you got home from school and we took you out later to celebrate so I told you to finish the day with your friends and I'd see you soon. I kissed you before I left, without a care in the world.

Exactly 10 days after we celebrated your 6th birthday, the horrible news of the CT elementary school shooting appeared on my facebook news feed. I refused to turn on the television in hopes of it being a crazy hoax. Unfortunately, it was real. So very real. I started reading people's status updates that reported several children killed. My chest tightened. My first glimpse of a picture from the scene was of the children walking in a single file line, just the way I'd seen you and your classmates walk 10 days earlier. There was a big difference, though. You and your classmates walked with smiles on your faces, without a care in the world. These kids were crying and terrified, worried for their lives. I could not breathe. I could not read anymore information on the shooting until much later that night. Once I allowed myself to watch the news, I cried.

26 people were killed that morning. Most of them 6 and 7 yr olds. The others, sweet, passionate teachers and a principal who devoted her time to making sure the students were always happy and most importantly, safe. None of these kids woke up in fear. Many left home in the same manner that you did on that morning...a less than clean room, excitement about what they would do that day at school with their friends, and a sweet kiss from mom and dad with the hope of seeing them again in just a few short hours. The teachers surely all had lesson plans ready to go. Great Christmas crafts for the kids to make to bring home to their parents. Wonderful stories to read to them. None of them planned to have to risk their lives in order to protect their kids from such violence. But they did. Such brave teachers.

My shock and fear upon learning the news of the shooting is certainly obsolete when it comes to the shock and fear of the parents of the children in the school on that horrible morning. I can't even imagine the paralyzing fear. Not knowing if your child is one of the many killed. The relief, despite the fear, upon being reunited. The take-my-breath-away anguish when you find out that your child is not coming out of that school alive.

I think back to December 4 and how nonchalant I was about our morning routine. I feel like I took it for granted. It could have easily been the last time I watched you brush your teeth, the last time you walked out of your messy room, the last time I had to count out your pills and supplements, the last time we sat on the porch talking about your plans for the day, the last time I kissed you goodbye. The last time. Those cupcakes that I baked could have ended up being left on the counter, uneaten, just like so many wrapped Christmas gifts are going to remain unopened. It is so hard to grasp. However, if there is one thing that I will not allow this tragedy to do is to cause us to live in fear. I plan to continue our daily routine, as usual. I won't lie and say that I will continue to send him off to school without a care in the world. Just like so many others, his safety and well being will always remain a major concern of mine but I cannot allow it to affect his life. What I can do, however, is cherish every single moment as if it was the last time. Rest in Peace to all of the Sandy Hook Elementary victims.

**Just a note that Jayden is aware that something bad happened at a school on Friday, as we prayed for the children and will continue to do so, but he does not know any of the details. I do not feel that he is old enough to understand right now, without becoming very afraid of going to school.**

Wednesday, November 7, 2012

Well, it's really not a set back, per say, but proof that one of the supplements we've added to his diet is actually working big time for him.

This past weekend, we started him on a supplement that is supposed to help him focus and to enhance his mental concentration. He is hyper and, while that does effect his learning, we feel that his lack of focus/concentration is what we need to work on because he is still only 5 yrs old. 5 yr old boys are supposed to by hyper ;) So we looked for ways to help him naturally, without medication. This supplement, called Attentive Child, contains DMAE, magnesium, L-Aspartate, and Grape seed extract all of which work to provide brain support and health.

We gave him his first chewable on Saturday and we noticed results by that night. He normally talks a lot, but usually it was in a silly tone and he'd ramble about non sense. He wouldn't always carry a conversation, pretty much just making a lot of noise. By Saturday night, he was speaking in a normal tone, and starting and carrying conversations. He even asked a lot of questions, like he was eager (and willing) to learn. He enjoyed showing us tricks (like hopping on one foot or doing a cartwheel) as opposed to running around playing Zombies and Super heroes all day. It never slowed him down, it just helped him to focus so instead of running around non stop, he spent more time working and paying attention to details. This morning's conversation is one I want to keep in my memory forever...My husband was laid off in May so he was home with the kids while I worked. Well he started a new job today so I did the morning school routine with Jayden and the conversation went a little like this:

Jayden: Mommy, you're home now?
Me: Yes!
Jayden: Yay! Are you going to come outside with me to wait for my bus?
Me: I sure am!
Jayden: YAY!!!
***My husband walked downstairs dressed in a suit. This wasn't the first time Jayden saw his Daddy in a suit b/c my husband had been going on several interviews and Jayden never questioned it.***
Jayden: (upon seeing his Daddy) Daddy, you got a job??
Daddy: Daddy did get a job Jayden!
Jayden: Where is your job?
Daddy: It's in Metairie
Jayden: Oh I like Metairie. Metairie is a nice place! (it really is) Have a good day Daddy!!

Seriously! He's never been able to focus or concentrate long enough to let his mind put two and two together. In that short time, he noticed that I was getting him ready for school and Daddy was dressed to go somewhere so obviously Daddy got a job and Mommy's home now to get him ready in the mornings :) He still talks non stop, but it has been nothing but sensible conversation...until this afternoon.

He JUMPED off the bus and RAN inside. Ok, cool. He immediately asked for a snack, which he does everyday, but he was literally one step behind me the entire way and kept talking about what he wanted and when he would get it. I asked him to calm down and sit at the table. It took him a while to get there. His attention kept getting pulled to other things. After he had his snack he went in his room and came down with a super hero cape and started running through the house. I corrected him and told him if he wanted to play like that it had to be in his room so he wouldn't hurt the baby. He didn't listen. He hurt the baby. He was back to talking in his silly, high pitched voice and not using English, just making noises (He's actually in the tub now, still doing that). Finally, I told him to sit at his desk so we could do some homework. I was clearing his desk and he was touching every.single.thing in sight. At that moment I made a mental note to ask my husband if he gave Jayden the Attentive Child this morning (he lays out the supplements with Jayden's breakfast). I handed him a simple worksheet and attempted to explain the simple directions. He wouldn't (or couldn't) listen. He never got it. I tried a different worksheet and actually had to do it with him. Towards the end, he got the last two on his own, but I could tell he wasn't concentrating. He kept whining saying he was tired and wanted to go to bed, but the minute I told him that he was done with his homework, he was back to running through the house and making the wild noises.

My husband got home from work and I asked him if he remembered rather he gave Jayden the supplement or not and he said he forgot. YIKES!! Obviously, this is something that Jayden needs to help his mind to slow down and focus. We actually only purchased a small bottle of the supplement to be sure that it would help him, but now we know. I'm about to order a bigger bottle. Otherwise, he's been doing wonderful and he's really eating more and accepting new foods without any problem.

Monday, November 5, 2012

Busy times around here! Anyway, Jayden is doing AMAZING! He's eating better, for sure. Last week he ate (and loved!) some teriyaki chicken with broccoli. He also loved some BBQ shrimp and green beans on Saturday night. We are working on switching him from his absolute favorite cereal in the ENTIRE world, Fruity Pebbles (yikes!!!), to Cinnamon Chex. Eventually, I plan to replace his cereal with a bowl of homemade Gluten Free Granola mix, but I have to take baby steps with him.

On the school front, there's certainly been an improvement! He's coming home with COMPLETED lessons done correctly. He's coloring in the lines and even getting creative with colors. He is more attentive. He's focusing better. He still needs to move around to learn, but he is a boy and he's only five (almost 6!!), so that's normal. I don't think anyone should expect a child his age to sit still to learn. He went from only knowing about 4 or 5 of his high frequency words, to know all but about 9 of them. And they are up to about 28 words now, so that's great!

We've decided to eliminate dairy from his diet again to see if that will help as well. We just implemented this change last week and he's going to miss his yogurt :( I'm headed to the store now to replace his yogurt with Clif Kids fruit ropes. He loves them and they fit in the exact same spot in his Planet Box lunchbox that his yogurt tube used to fit in. It's going to take some time, but he is getting there!

Tuesday, October 16, 2012

Late with this update, but it's really hard trying to find time to sit at the computer these days ;)

Anyway, the 1st week was a good one for Jayden, although he did seem EXTREMELY emotional. His notes from school said that he was crying about every little thing. He did the same thing this past weekend. At a birthday party he cried several times and then admitted later to being bullied. The same thing at Sunday school. I think perhaps some kids are teasing him and now he's getting sensitive about it :( Not sure if any of this has to do with the supplements and/or diet changes or if it's just coincidental. His attention and focus is still not where it should be at his age, but I did notice an improvement. Also, he is very easy to get back on track and to calm down when he gets upset. We've heard lots of "Yes Ma'am" and "Yes Sir" accompanied with him following directions on the first time this past week, which has been a great change. He's still behind on his high function words for kindergarten, but it will be a slow and steady stride to get him at least on track b/c of his attention issues. Last night, he enjoyed reviewing, though, and I think he actually LEARNED 6 words as opposed to memorizing what they look like.

His biggest improvement last week, however, was in the foods he will eat. Jayden is 100% gluten free and has been since he was 2.5 yrs old. Rice is (or should I say, should be) a huge staple in his diet. Not only due to his gluten intolerance, but also because he's part of a Filipino family ;) lol. Well, Jayden used to scream at the sight of rice. We were able to solve the screaming issues long ago and he'd allow the rice to share a spot on his plate but he'd refuse to touch it. If we made him try some, he'd gag. Finally, we got him to start eating it but he'd only eat one grain at a time...I kid you not. So, I decided that rice would be one of the first foods I introduced in his EAT program. The first night was tough and involved me feeding him and we were at the table for an hour. The next day, he fed himself some rice at my mom's house. By Wednesday, he was easily filling a spoon with kid sized bites of rice and feeding himself with no problem. SUCCESS!

He's having no issues at all taking his supplements. The fish oil, he wants straight off a spoon b/c he said it makes his smoothie taste funny. He complained of the oily texture at first but now he doesn't care. He always asks for an entire banana in his smoothie so we struggle with getting the smoothie to freely flow through his straw. I'm going to get him a smoothie cup today. Also, I just purchased a PlanetBox lunch box from a friend of mine so we can start to send a healthier and fresher lunch for him. His first request was for celery sticks and they fit perfectly inside the lunch box.

Monday, October 8, 2012

So...It has been some time since I've updated this blog! Unfortunately, my wonderful husband was laid off in May and still hasn't been able to find employment. As you know, we were a single income family, but his job was always enough to keep us very comfortable. I've had to work in order to keep us afloat, here. So I've been pulling shifts at the gym daycare (which I absolutely love but I miss my baby a lot), booking tons of photography sessions, and selling Scentsy (which I've been quite successful at). I don't think that I could ever match what my husband was bringing home, but it does help us to keep this roof over our heads! On top of all of that, I'm also in school, online, completing my Psychology degree. All of that plus trying to be the best mom I can be to my two precious boys. It's exhausting, to say the least!
So you can see why I haven't had the time to update. However, we've come across an issue in our home that will require some journaling on my behalf so it may bring this blog back to life, just with a slightly different topic.

Just a little backstory: Elias was born almost 4 weeks early and he had the typical struggles of a late term preemie, but didn't require extensive care. He gained weight quickly, but of course always stayed on the lower end of the growth chart (He's 9 months and 16lbs now, at the 5th percentile). That was never a concern for us though b/c he nursed like a champ and now that he's eating solids he eats well. However, he seems to always get sick :( The Dr just associated it with him being a late term preemie. We found out at his 9 month well visit, though, that he's severely anemic. His Hg came back at 5.5 when normal range is 11 or above. The pediatrician simply recommended PolyViSol daily. I'd been struggling with anemia as well, and since I still breastfeed, I know that my lack of iron contributed to his. I found it strange that the Dr didn't recommend an iron rich diet since his levels were that low. Surely, he (and I) would benefit from it! This made me seriously evaluate the way we all eat at home. As I was thinking, I was overwhelmed by the fact that if Elias and I are both anemic despite the variety in our diets, then Jayden HAS to be deficient in so many areas b/c his diet is so limited (picky PICKY eater) and has been that way
since he was 2.5 yrs old.
I had been planning on putting Jayden in what I was calling "Food Boot Camp". I KNEW that Jayden had to start eating a wider variety of foods, but I was always waiting for the right time b/c I knew it wasn't going to be easy. Since he was 2.5, Jayden's diet mainly consists of (I'm embarrassed to share, but it's time for healing so I'm putting it all out there)hotdogs (we got him jennie-o turkey dogs to make me feel better),french fries, turkey rolls, beans&franks, and Nutella sandwiches on GF bread. For a while, he was on this vienna sausages kick, but I cut that out a long time ago b/c it was out of control. When I was sick and pregnant with the baby, I believe Jayden lived off turkey rolls b/c it was the easiest thing for his dad to feed him. Oh I forgot one...Fruity Pebbles cereal. It's like crack to him.

There you have it. That's what Jayden has been consuming for the past 3 yrs :*( Horrible. Junk. We expressed our concerns with the Dr and she would say that he was still on the growth chart so we should just give him multivitamins daily :eyeroll: Don't get me wrong, I love the boys' Dr but doctors in general do not give nutrition the credit that it deserves in our health and well being. She did refer us to a nutritionist who simply told me that it was a phase all kids go through and to give him pediasure. After 3 yrs of this, I think it's safe to say that this is not a phase and pediasure is not going to cut it when it comes to getting him all the nutrients and vitamins that he needs. So I knew it was time for a change. I had my butt kicked in to gear on Wednesday of last week though when Jayden's kindergarten teacher sent a letter home from school. It said that he's having a hard time keeping up with the kindergarten classwork. That he has a hard time understanding the instructions and cannot complete his assignments. He had been coming home with incomplete assignments or assignments that he'd done completely incorrect (i.e. number search to circle only the number 2, he'd circle every single number). We always made him complete the assignment or do it correctly at home and he has no problem doing it, without our help or instructions. I asked him why he couldn't do his work at school and he told me "It's too loud. They make my ears hurt." and he also says "I can't listen." which to me means, I can't focus. I know he has a huge nutritional gap that's causing these issues so I went in, head first, doing the research to heal both of my boys.

Elias has been pretty straight forward, as I've just been giving him naturally iron rich foods and he's eating them just fine (pancakes made with prune juice, apricots, bone broth, lentils, spinach, etc). Jayden, on the other hand, is going to be a process. That's why I wanted to use this blog to journal his progress.

The issues that we are currently dealing with and hoping will be resolved with nutrition include:*hyperactivity*inability to focus *irritability *fatigue *little, to no appetite *cognitive delay *blotchy skin *underweight *GI issues

We headed out to the health food store and the vitamin shop on Thursday, for supplements to begin giving him immediately. He was already taking a multi vitamin, but we added the other's as of Thursday:

*Multivitamin-Chewy Panda Vites (We plan to change these to Nordic Berries when we eliminate gelatin hopefully within the next month)
*Probiotics-Udo's Choice Infant Probiotics-I got the powder form so that Elias can take it as well. This is essential in healing the gut and keeping it healthy with good bacteria.
*Fish Oil- We usually get Nordic Naturals but we are trying Carlson for Kids tomorrow to see if he can tolerate the taste better. Fish oil is important in brain development and helps to improve concentration and focus.
*Topical Cream for Neuro support-Neuro-Immune Stabilizer Compound. This compound is used to help with mood improvement & stabilization, focus & concentration, and organization skills.
*Antioxidants- We are using two different antioxidants for Jayden. CellWise and Provex Plus which also helps with mental sharpness in addition to fighting free radicals. Antioxidants fight the free radicals (destructive molecules that damage your cells) in the body.
*Total Nutrition Drink Mix-X Balance Kid's Superfood. We make this into a smoothie for him and he drinks it once a day and loves it :) Gives him a full serving of fruit and veggies ;)

As for as his diet is concerned, it's going to be a work in progress for sure. I've started him on the E.A.T. program by Kelly Dorfmann It's pretty simple: Eliminate any possible foods causing reactions. Add one food at a time. Try one bite of this food each night for two weeks. So far, so good and it doesn't seem like we will need to drag each food on for 2 weeks. On Thursday night, I had a big talk with him about nutrition. I told him that he needed to eat more than just hot dogs if he wanted to grow up big and strong like "Spiderman". I also told him the honest truth, if you continue to eat only hotdogs everyday you won't be healthy. You'll be sick :( And always tired. I asked him if he would be willing to try new foods and he told me yes. That same night, I served him rice and brown gravy with some green peas. He eats green peas when we serve them to him. He just has a hard time eating rice, so I really only added that one new element to his plate. He was excited to try it and he even asked to sit at the big table with us for dinner (he usually sits at his small table beside us). Great idea! So he sat there and took 20 minutes to eat the tablespoon full of green peas that I gave him. He was eating one grain of rice at a time and he started to get frustrated when everyone else was done eating. So I helped him. An hour later, he had finished the entire tablespoon of rice and gravy. Sure it took much longer than that should have, but he ate it. Progress. And if I have to feed him to get him used to eating, I was prepared to do so. Friday night, I asked him what he wanted for dinner and he told me he wanted "real food", "no hot dogs"!! Woo Hoo! We ate left overs that night and he actually fed himself!. On Saturday, my mom cooked dirty rice (southern style rice dish), green peas, and baked chicken. I served Jayden a very small portion of everything and sat at the table prepared to help him. I asked him if he needed me and he said no, the proceeded to feed himself!! He didn't finish everything on his plate but he ate just about all of his rice! RICE!!! A food that he used to gag on! I was so impressed and I'm proud of him! He is going to do just fine :)

We've already started to eliminate some things such as artificial colors and flavorings, high fructose corn syrup, genetically modified foods, and processed foods. We plan to remove much more in the near future, but right now, getting him to actually EAT food is my priority. Once he is able to trust the food that he eats, then I will start to eliminate more.

As I update this blog, the updates will be based on his progress. Like I said, we started supplementing him on Thursday, My husband said that he noticed that Jayden was very calm and well behaved this weekend. I didn't think much of it b/c he hasn't been struggling with behavior much lately, so I just chopped it up to him having a good weekend. However, he got off the bus today with COMPLETED worksheets!! AND! AND!!! They were done CORRECTLY!!! He did it!! The teacher sent a note home that said "Jayden had a WONDERFUL day today. He did great in his academics!" She has no idea we started supplements so I don't see why she would make it a point to say that he did well in academics unless he truly did show her some real progress. Man, it makes me soooo happy! We are scheduled to meet with her tomorrow afternoon to discuss his issues with schoolwork and I plan to ask her if she did notice a change in his focus on today (and tomorrow) as opposed to the last few weeks. I expect her to say that she has noticed a change. Hopefully, he can adjust and be able to remain in his class with his friends and still be able to learn and do his work. I am very positive about his situation.

Thursday, April 26, 2012

Missed me?? (As soon as I typed in the title, the baby woke up from his nap, so this will be shorter than intended!)
So, life is wonderful, yet busier, with two boys! Obviously, a 5 yr gap between babies is the way to go. Jayden is SUPER helpful and he is absolutely in love with his brother. He's never shown any jealousy. He waits his turn if the baby is upset. In fact, when Elias cries, Jayden will give him his pacifier and rub his head and say "Mommy's coming Elias. It will be ok!" Totally melts my heart! Jayden cannot wait for Elias to be able to play hide n seek with him. For now, I hold Elias (facing outwards) and we "Find" Jayden together. Elias thinks it's hilarious! Toys...that will be our main issue, I'm sure. Jayden has already broken 2 of Elias' toys. Sophie the giraffe lost her voice (squeaker) to the hands of Jayden after only being in Elias' possession for less than 24 hours. I have a feeling Elias' hands will do the same to Jayden's toys really soon. It won't be pretty!
Jayden is still doing great in school. He is still in the regular pre-k classroom with the option to go to the PEI class if needed, but he never needs to go. He gets off the bus and tells us all about his day. He LOVES school. He's also reading now! 3 word sentences! Smart boy! He goes to Kumon twice a week for help with math and they also help him stay on track with reading. He's playing t ball and loves it (as long as he's winning). He's a little ladies man, for sure! Whenever someone tells him how handsome he is or how gorgeous his eyes are, he says thank you then tells me "She wikes me mama!" lol!
Elias is 4 months now and is just as sweet and good natured as Jayden was at this age! He loves to be talked to. He has a head full of straight, black hair and we've gotten the "toupee'"comment on more than one occasion. He has the greatest smile and cutest voice ever. He's sleeping through the night and learning to grab for things and bring them straight to his mouth. He is a drool machine right now and I think he has 2 teeth ready to pop through on the bottom very soon.
I planned to add pictures here, but I'm typing one handed so I will be back later to add some! Stay tuned.

Tuesday, February 28, 2012

I'm still around, but I'm a mom of 2 now so don't have much time to update as I would like to!!

Really quick before little Elias wakes up: Jayden is doing WONDERFUL!!! NO SEIZURES! And best of all, he's back in his regular preK classroom! In fact, the principal decided he needed to be in the 100% mainstream classroom b/c I had him in the inclusion class. He's thriving!!! He has LOTS of friends and according to him, he has 2 girlfriends :) He's such a great kid! He fell into his big brother role with no problems at all and he adores his baby brother.

I don't think I ever made an official announcement here, but meet Elias Parker! Born on 12/20/11, 3.5 weeks early and completely healthy!

Welcome to our blog!

Thank you for visiting our blog! We are happy to share a little bit of our lives with you. After years of battling infertility, we adopted our son, Jayden, at birth and 5 years later I gave birth to our newest addition, Elias. God is so good!!

This blog is a mixture of personal thoughts, daily battles and triumphs with Jayden's health, and about our experiences as a family of 4. So sit back and enjoy our crazy life!